Service and Therapy Animals: Facts and Information | Publications
Summary: These publications on service and therapy animals offer comprehensive insights into the roles these animals play in assisting individuals with disabilities. They cover a range of topics including the legal rights under laws like the Fair Housing Act, the distinction between service and therapy animals, and practical guidance on how to integrate these animals into daily life or specific settings. These documents are not only educational but also provide clarity on regulations, making them invaluable for people with disabilities, seniors, and anyone interested in understanding how service animals can aid in tasks like guiding the visually impaired, alerting to seizures, or providing emotional support, thereby enhancing independence and quality of life.
Searching the Database: The data table below lists items that may have been updated or revised, but the table defaults to sorting by descending publication date; you can search and sort by clicking column headers (JavaScript required). Items in this category are also distributed via our Service and Therapy Animals: Facts and Information RSS feed.
| Title and Description | Ed | Publish Revised |
|---|---|---|
| Study Reveals Pet Owners Do Not Have Better Mental Health Study investigated potential benefits of pet ownership to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and contrary to common belief, no significant positive effects were shown. | 5 Sep 2024 | |
| Therapy Cows Show Strong Preference for Women Over Men Cows used as cow hugging therapy animals displayed a marked preference for interacting with women over men. | ✓ | 23 May 2024 22 Nov 2024 |
| Influence and Responsibility: Higher Education's Role in Shaping Societal Perceptions, Policy, and Knowledge on Service Dogs, Disability, and Inclusion Allison Gainer writes on university responsibility for inclusion education and actively combating ableism, particularly regarding students accompanied by service dogs. | 20 Apr 2024 | |
| Emotional Toll of Forced Separation Between Humans and Their Pets Pet owners forced to be separated from their animals are suffering from a lack of support services needed to protect them. | 28 Jan 2024 | |
| Pet Ownership Does Not Reduce Symptoms of Severe Mental Illness Living with and having a close bond with a companion animal does not necessarily lead to significant mental health improvements in people with a serious mental illness. | 14 Jul 2023 | |
| Grieving Loss of a Pet - Perspective for Counselors While empathy may come more naturally when discussing human loss, there are other types of loss that are not acknowledged or given a similar amount of attention by society. | 27 Nov 2022 4 Jan 2023 | |
| Guide Dogs Left Barking at the Door Daniel Williams writes about his legal entitlement to access public places with his assistance dog under the U.K. Equality Act 2010. | 4 Mar 2019 28 Apr 2025 | |
| 17-Year-Old Receives Autism Service Dog from Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers Autism Service Dog delivered to Maeve from Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers to help assist her and better communicate her needs on the spectrum. | 12 Jun 2018 17 Sep 2023 | |
| Animals May Not View Things As Clear As Humans Details that look sharp to people may appear blurry to their pets as humans see the world in higher resolution than most animals. | 30 May 2018 21 Sep 2023 | |
| Dogs with Fear of Noises Should be Assessed for Pain Study reveals dogs which show fear or anxiety when faced with loud or sudden noises should be routinely assessed for pain by veterinarians. | 26 Mar 2018 2 Jun 2018 | |
| Study Finds Therapy Dogs Help Stressed University Students Participants reported reductions in stress and increased happiness and energy following the sessions, compared to students who did not spend time at a therapy dog session. | 13 Mar 2018 16 Jul 2023 | |
| Service Dogs Associated with Lower PTSD Symptoms Among War Veterans A preliminary study has shown that overall symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are lower among war veterans with service dogs. | 11 Feb 2018 16 Jul 2023 | |
| National Federation of the Blind Statement on Delta's New Service Animal Policy NFB statement with regard to the new service and support animal policy announced by Delta Air Lines. | 26 Jan 2018 29 May 2019 | |
| Delta Introduces Enhanced Requirements for Customers Traveling with Service or Support Animals Effective March 1st 2018 Delta Air Lines introduces new requirements for people traveling with service or support animals. | 20 Jan 2018 | |
| Exploring Seniors Health Benefits of Cat Fostering Proposed unique solution to help older adults living alone at home establish new social bonds, by pairing them with homeless foster cats. | 7 Jan 2018 16 Jul 2023 | |
| Research Shows Therapy Dogs Not Stressed When Visiting Pediatric Cancer Patients Publication of study exploring impact of therapy dog sessions on welfare of dogs involved demonstrates dogs did not show increased stress resulting from therapy visits. | 2 Jan 2018 19 Sep 2023 | |
| Tax Reform Impact on Free Assistance Dogs for Disabled The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 threatens to reduce charitable giving by $16-24 billion yearly, affecting organizations providing service dogs at no cost. | ✓ ✓ | 29 Dec 2017 20 Jan 2026 |
| Therapy Cats for Emotional Support or Comfort Animals Information regarding the use of domestic cats as therapy animals for seniors, people with both physical and mental disabilities, and children health conditions. | 20 Dec 2017 16 Jul 2023 | |
| Non-profit Provides Assistance Dogs Free of Charge to People with Disabilities Canine Companions for Independence transforms the lives children, adults and veterans with disabilities by providing trained assistance dogs. | 23 Jun 2017 | |
| Declawing Linked to Aggression and Other Abnormal Behaviors in Cats Research reveals declawing cats increases risk of long-term or persistent pain, manifesting as unwanted behaviors such as inappropriate elimination, and aggression/biting. | 23 May 2017 6 Feb 2019 | |
| Best Practices for Certifying Emotional Support Animals Study outlines how mental health professionals assess and recommend emotional support animal certification, and why consistent, careful evaluation matters. | ✓ ✓ | 18 May 2017 14 Dec 2025 |
| College Campuses Recognizing Benefits of Emotional Support Animals Understanding how important an emotional support animal is for someone with anxiety, depression or other mental challenge. | 8 May 2017 20 Dec 2017 | |
| Pets Are Great for People With Mental Health Issues Emotional Support Animals are now used in treatment and considered part of the normal care for a variety of mental health issues. | 24 Apr 2017 24 Apr 2024 | |
| Common Service Dog Misconceptions A list of common misconceptions that the general public has about service dogs including important issues that needs to be addressed. | 12 Nov 2016 14 Jul 2023 | |
| Pet Owners Save $11.7B in Health Care Costs HABRI findings of new economic study on healthcare cost savings associated with pet ownership. | 14 Dec 2015 11 Jul 2021 | |
| DOJ Sues Gates-Chili Central School District Over ADA Service Animal Law Justice Department sues Gates-Chili central school district for violating the service animal requirements of the ADA. | 3 Oct 2015 26 Jun 2017 | |
| Hero Service Dog Stopped From Boarding American Airlines Plane Returning from American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards, Service dog is prevented from accompanying Marine on flight home. | 22 Sep 2015 | |
| Guide to Animal Visits in Hospital New guidance outlines policies regarding use of animals in healthcare facilities, including service animals, research animals and personal pet visitation. | 3 Jun 2015 18 Aug 2021 | |
| ADA Law for Service Animals Training Video Campaign to educate businesses, Government offices, Fire, Rescue and Police about ADA Law as it applies to service animals. | 24 Apr 2015 12 Jul 2024 | |
| HUD Fair Housing Act: Service and Therapy Animals in Student Housing Campus administrators of student housing are facing growing number of lawsuits regarding service animals in their premises. | 26 Feb 2015 2 Sep 2021 | |
| Fake Service Dog Vests and ID Card Scam Undermines ADA Exposes rampant sale of fake service dog vests, certificates and IDs, explains ADA definitions and how fraud harms legitimate service dog teams. | ✓ ✓ | 16 Feb 2015 14 Dec 2025 |
| Booster a Famous Service Dog to be Cloned As part of the team to clone a dog, Dr. Shin will provide a unique perspective into the realities of canine cloning. | 14 Feb 2015 7 Sep 2021 | |
| Benefit of Animal Assisted Therapy in Cancer Patients Clinical trial shows benefits of animal-assisted therapy in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment. | 14 Jan 2015 26 Oct 2020 | |
| When Pets with Out-of-date Vaccine are Exposed to Rabies Virus The study shows that pets whose rabies vaccination was considered out-of-date at the time of exposure to a rabid animal responded well after receiving an immediate rabies booster and did not develop any signs of the illness. | 6 Jan 2015 3 Oct 2021 | |
| Magnolia Paws: Service Dogs Helping People with Seizure Disorders Magnolia Paws for Compassion connects individuals with epilepsy to trained seizure assistance dogs, enhancing safety and independence through specialized care. | ✓ ✓ | 8 Nov 2014 19 Apr 2025 |
| Warrior Service Dogs North Carolina Warrior Service Dogs will train a veterans own dog to become their service dog or select a dog from a shelter and train it for the veterans specific needs. | 14 Sep 2014 | |
| Pet Therapy: Pain Reduction from Animal Assisted Therapy Animal-assisted therapy can significantly reduce anxiety, pain, fatigue and depression in people who experience a range of health issues. | 13 Aug 2014 29 Aug 2021 | |
| Therapy Dogs: How Do the Animals Feel Information on how therapy dogs feel in a therapy setting and how you can create a largely stress-free situation for the animals. | 29 Apr 2014 28 Jul 2021 | |
| Children with Autism Benefit by Pet Ownership Parents of kids with autism report benefits of pet and dog ownership included companionship, stress relief and opportunities for their children to learn responsibility. | 17 Apr 2014 16 Jul 2023 | |
| Prison Pet Partnership Program: Trained Seizure Assistant Dogs Information regarding the Prison Pet Partnership Program a model in rehabilitation of female offenders in the criminal justice system in Washington. | 14 Aug 2013 29 Aug 2021 | |
| Canine Parvovirus and Assistant Dogs Information regarding canine parvovirus a highly contagious disease of dogs includes signs symptoms and treatment of the dog. | 19 Jun 2013 14 Apr 2021 | |
| American Canine Academy: An Interview with Becca Interview with a trainer at The American Canine Academy where Frijole was trained as a Hearing Assistant Dog. | 9 Apr 2012 2 Apr 2022 | |
| Home Depot, Senior Living, FedEx and Frijole The return of Frijole from training at the American Canine Academy finds him prepared to serve my husband Tom as a hearing assistant dog. | 2 Apr 2012 6 Apr 2022 | |
| A Vest for Frijole - A Hearing Assistance Dog A service dog is one that has been trained or is being trained to assist a person who is physically disabled other than sight or hearing impaired. | 29 Mar 2012 16 Sep 2023 | |
| Service and Therapy Dogs: ADA State Rights Information on service dogs that are trained on an individual basis to perform tasks that assist their handlers with disabilities. | 19 Dec 2011 24 Apr 2024 | |
| Autism Service Dogs: Information, Training, Purposes Service dogs may be trained for some people with autism with the intention of assisting them to gain greater independence, confidence, as well as the ability to perform activities of daily living they might not otherwise be able to do. | 15 Dec 2011 11 Nov 2021 | |
| Training Emotional-Assistance Service Dogs Ami Moore an emotional assistance service dogs for veterans training expert provides Hounds4Heroes a training program for service dogs at no charge. | 24 Oct 2011 11 Dec 2021 | |
| What is the Role of a Therapy Dog? These Dogs come from a variety of breeds there is no perfect breed or mix of breeds that make the best Therapy Dogs. | 18 Apr 2011 24 Apr 2024 | |
| CRTASA Registry of Therapy and Service Animals CRTASA provides standardized photo ID cards for service animal owners in Canada and the USA, covering multiple species including dogs, monkeys, and horses. | ✓ ✓ | 7 Nov 2010 30 Dec 2025 |
| Thames Center Service Dogs also Provides Animal Assisted Therapy Thames Center Service Dogs are now working with A Circle of Hope Therapy Center where Animal Assisted Therapy is used alongside psychotherapy and physiotherapy. | 18 Oct 2010 14 Jun 2013 | |
| Assistance Canines: Understanding Service and Guide Dogs Explore the history and training behind guide dogs, along with valuable guidelines for interacting with these remarkable animals. | ✓ | 6 Aug 2010 20 Nov 2024 |
| Safety Data on Topical Flea and Tick Products EPA-reviewed safety data on topical flea and tick products shows incident rates of 16 per 100,000 applications when used correctly. Practical guidance included. | ✓ ✓ | 8 Apr 2010 18 Oct 2025 |
| Human Medications That Are Poisonous to Pets Human medications safe for people can be hazardous to pets, learn the most common drugs, risks and prevention steps to protect your animals. | ✓ ✓ | 7 Jan 2010 18 Oct 2025 |
| Holiday Pet Toxin Tips and Poisoned Pet Helpline Holiday pet toxin guide from Pet Poison Helpline delivers trusted tips to avoid decoration, plant and food hazards for pets during festive seasons. | ✓ ✓ | 17 Nov 2009 18 Oct 2025 |
| Service Animal Laws for Places of Business Under the ADA US Department of Justice questions and answers on ADA service animal rules for businesses serving the public, including no-pets policies, fees, and access. | ✓ ✓ | 31 Oct 2009 14 May 2026 |
| Hidden Hazards: Household Toxins That Poison Pets Guide to household and garden toxins threatening pet health, including symptoms, treatment protocols, and emergency response strategies for pet owners. | ✓ ✓ | 26 Oct 2009 18 Oct 2025 |
| Veterinary Poison Control Shares Halloween Safety Tips for Pets Expert Halloween safety tips for pets from veterinary poison-control professionals help owners protect animals from festive hazards. | ✓ ✓ | 22 Oct 2009 18 Oct 2025 |
| Service Dogs - Thames Center Service Dogs In order to qualify for a service dog clients must provide a letter from a physician or mental health professional. | 27 Aug 2009 14 Jun 2013 | |
| Queensland Takes Guide Dogs Most Seriously Guide and assistance dogs have access to public places public passenger vehicles and planes according to Queensland legislation. | 7 Jul 2009 18 Mar 2015 | |
| Owning a Rescue Cat Saved My Life I went to a cat rescue center and found Jessie a tortoiseshell cat so frightened and underweight she reminded me of myself. | 2 Apr 2009 17 Jun 2021 | |
| Southeastern Guide Dogs - Service Animals Southeastern Guide Dogs mission is to create and nurture a partnership between a visually impaired individual and a guide dog. | 3 Feb 2009 4 Jul 2010 | |
| Legitimate Service Dog Training Many people are interested in volunteering a dog they own for service dog training and this is very commendable. | 28 Jan 2009 7 Nov 2010 | |
| Hunting Dogs as Therapy and Service Dogs Many sporting or hunting dog breeds are used for service dog training to help people with a disability or as therapy in hospitals and nursing homes. | 23 Jan 2009 29 Apr 2014 | |
| Helping Hands Monkey Helpers for Quadriplegics Helping Hands trains capuchin monkeys as service animals for quadriplegics in their homes. | 8 Jan 2009 15 Sep 2024 | |
| Guide Dogs for Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers Using dogs for Alzheimers patients where dogs are trained to listen to the patient and act when particular words are stated. | 1 Jan 2009 5 Apr 2024 | |
| Travel Tips for Flying with Service Animals Your service animal is not considered a pet so it is in a separate category and you should not be charged any extra costs to have them board with you. | 31 Dec 2008 15 Sep 2024 |
Note: Disabled World compiles disability-related publications as a resource. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by Disabled-World.com. To submit disability-related articles and peer-reviewed manuscripts and papers, ensure submissions comply with our guidelines. For questions, please contact us.
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